1960 MG MGA

Coupe

1800 (MGB engine, s/n 18G-U-H-18109)

Manual

GHDL70008

Clear

I’ll start this description at the front of the car, beginning with the grille. The grille is the original. Consequently it has the minor dents and dings typical in its surface. I believe I also have the rubber gasket which is supposed to be between the grill and the surface of the car. The old valance was too far gone for me to try to bother with so I replaced with a new after market fiberglass piece. The front bumper is new, but the mounting brackets are not. Regrettably one of the outer brackets appears to have been damaged (perhaps a tow rope or similar situation), but this predates my ownership. I declined to re-install the bumper over riders, front and rear, believing it makes the car somewhat more modern looking without these parts. In their place however I have used stainless steel carriage bolts. The four wheels as well as the spare are painted wire wheels. The four road tires are new, the spare is not. I purchased these from Coker tires, as locally purchased tires of this size are now difficult to locate. Several of the individual spokes are deformed, my guess is that at some time over the years when the tires were changed… well lets just say they did it improperly, Again this predates my ownership. As for the knockoffs, the edges are a little bit beat up, but not unduly. The top of the drivers side front fender shows two holes intended for a fender mounted mirror, but none is installed. Two items about the cowl: A previous owner cut a hole on the passenger side for a radio antenna, I’ll just say at the present the hole remains, no antenna has been installed. The second item, the ‘1600’ emblems are not installed. I did this deliberately thinking about the possibility of creating an ‘1800’ emblem that would resemble the original. To that end I have done some design work on this project but as for the construction, that remains. The glass is installed all around, but the finisher strips are not. As of this date I believe there is just one new uninstalled strips back where I keep my spare parts for the car. The doors, a sore subject for me, since I am no body man, I did however hang and install the doors myself; maybe they never did fit really well even when new. As for the interior of the car: The seats are covered in red leather, original to the car. However the seats are not bolted to the floor panels. The carpeting when I purchased it was gray, but over the years of my ownership it has faded to a reddish-tan color. I would say that they were rather sun bleached, but the car has not been in the sun too much, but only a garage. I don’t believe I have installed the instrument panel lights, but the instruments each work, with the exception of the fuel gage. And yes, the oil pressure gage/temperature gage does work. I shipped it off to Nisonger in New York for it to be repaired some years back. As for the floor boards: When I replaced these I thought I had a novel approach. I purchased a sheet of marine grade plywood and cut the individual pieces from that material then subsequently painted each of them black. Another item which is not exactly fitted as of this moment is the windshield wiper motor. To be sure the motor is in its rightful place, just that the wiring to the motor is not installed. Speedometer and tachometer both work and look nice. The horn has yet to be installed, and quite frankly I’m not positive one was on the car when I purchased it. Although the horn switch/button is on the car. The heater and heater controls are not installed, though both are available, and would be included with the car. As I suggested above about the engine: The engine in the car is a MGB engine, three main bearing, so as to retain the original working tachometer and tach drive. The serial number plate on the engine was destroyed when the block was boiled, prior to being serviced, though I took the liberty of writing down that number. That number is 18G-U-H-18109 Further more I believe that I replaced the carburetor main jet needles to suit this larger engine, so that it does not run lean. When I purchased the car it had installed a 1500 engine, and since many would know that this too is not the correct engine for the car I opted for the newer engine, rather than an older one. Since I’ve owned the car it has always been kept indoors out of the weather, of the few times that I’ve driven it, it has been only on pleasant weather days. The frame of the car was actually in pretty good condition when I purchased it. I purchased the car out of Texas in 1997 and after getting it home began to disassemble it. I believe that I still have a photo of the frame out on my driveway sitting on a side edge. I coated the frame in at least what was then one of the premier paints: Por15, but as I say this was nearly 15 years ago and now even that paint is showing signs of chipping in places. Since I’ve had the car licensed and driveable I learned that the grease seals at both rear wheels were ‘leaky’. But as many would know the problem was not really with the seals themselves, rather the shaft. Following this discovery I installed a new pair of “Speedy-sleeves” and now no more troubles there. The overall body of the car was professionally painted using DuPont Chromabase. I selected a color closely matching the antique white which was the original color of this car. It has been nearly a full year since I’ve last had the car out on the roads, as such this is one the driving motivations for my now selling the car. I have nearly all the receipts for the repairs to the car, and actually just last night complied these documents to determine the cost of what I’ve spent on the car. If the next owner would like these receipts they will be provided. Likewise the owners manual as well as a parts listing book. We live about 10 miles east of St. Louis, MO Call or email with questions, and if nearby you can view the car personally. My home phone number is 618.343.9029 And cell phone is 558.7215 1960 MG MGA, Coupe Vehicle serial number GHDL70008 Engine serial number 18G-U-H-18109